Linux Guru.

Software is like sex: it's better when it's free - Linus Torvalds

I decided to start my Software Engineering story from here because, of all things I've come across, learnt and used on this journey, Linux is by far my favorite. My journey with Linux started in 2010. I had just bought my laptop by saving up what my government scholarship used to pay me, bought a laptop and after only one semester of enjoying it, it was stolen from my dorm room. Sad and angry, I picked myself up, gathered what I had left, and bought a desktop. You can't carry away a full monitor and CPU and run off, now can you, burglar!?

Anyway, after a few days, I realized this cheap desktop unit I bought, of course, had issues; the sound wasn't working. Already frustrated with Windows by this time in my life (I still insist Windows sucks ,dont tell Gates), I decided to try Linux. We were learning aspects of Linux in my information systems class, but mainly about terminal and commands, in the faculty computer labs, but I hadn't realized it was a full operating system that one could run on their own machine.

So, after a friend told me about how its distros come with drivers and how that might fix my no sound problem, I decided to embark down the Linux rabbit hole. And dive I did.

I tried every single Linux distro that existed in 2010. From RedHat to openSUSE, Ubuntu, and to less known ones like Pardus. Finally, I settled on Linux Mint - Cinnamon desktop as my main one, and I have never looked back, something about it just spoke to me. While the sound issue turned out to be a hardware problem (and a new sound card fixed it), my love for Linux remained. Since Linux Mint 7 to now 21.3, I have used every single version and loved it more. I am even typing this on, guess what operating system?.  

I always keep a Windows OS around for my serious design work - Adobe Suite. But for less demanding tasks, Inkscape, GIMP, or any of the many online tools usually cover it.

Web Development, Front End

“All our engineers are designers and all our designers are engineers.” - James Dyson of the Dyson Company, best known as the inventor of bagless vacuum cleaners. A philosophy I subscribe to .

The first money I made off web development was not even code-related, but graphics design (you can read about that in the design section!) But that first weird gig was my introduction to the world of Web Development, and from the first website of "Wills Pregnant Boutique" I started my websites and front-end journey.

Since then, I have created several websites. Started out using HTML templates legally downloaded from the internet *cough cough, to later WordPress themes, learning to use CSS, PHP (remember those? *cries in old age). WampServers, XAMPP, Joomla Templates, NetBeans, and Fireworks, which had now been acquired by Adobe, killed the graphics part and turned it into a web dev thing. It was pretty weird for me at the time by the way, because being a graphics designer for what was 3 years at that point, I only knew Fireworks as a graphics design program. - Side note: Kudos to Adobe for always swiftly buying out any and all competitors, decade on decade. it's interesting.

Anyway, my journey into web development is getting exciting at this point; we're creating any and all websites, We were an IT firm, after all. But business is not good; for being a developing nation, the concept of websites to 2010 Ugandans was as lost as say AI is to most people in 2023. And good luck getting anyone to pay you for it if they don't even know what the hell it is. One thing about humans I have noticed over time is "whatever it is, even though they don't understand or have any idea about it, they want it for free."

The market was quite small, and securing paying clients proved even more challenging, but we continued designing nonetheless. We shifted our focus to creating our own products, ranging from lyrics provider sites to rental real estate mobile apps, shopping websites, and more. Most of these ventures have since shut down, but traces of their Facebook and Twitter pages, along with other online mentions, can still be found if you scrape deep enough. The internet has a way of saying, "I remember, even if you don't."

My most memorable and favorite, out of all these shenanigans and developer Oprah moments where everyone and everything got a website, was by far the 9gag rip-off we called "weirdish.com." Remember the meme design GIMP phase over in the design section? Yeah, this was the time (seriously, check out the design section, it's nice. I wrote it before this one, so).

This was the era of rage face memes, Rickrolling, troll face, and of course, our lord and savior Nyan Cat. What good old days! WordPress back end made uploading content easy and fast, and GIMP and Linux were making creation and design smooth, fast, and fun. To this date, it still remains one of my best times working on a personal project. Working on things that make you and people laugh, I will take the large size of that meal  any day, anytime.
Anyway, the Facebook page is still up. Ahh, good ol Facebook. Facebook: "keeping your entire life story and weirdness alive, without you realizing it". That's their next slogan by the way , they're launching it soon. My very real insider friend told me so, just you wait and see.

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I.T Trainer/ Computer Administrator- Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung/ SS Allied Consults, South Sudan.

Am done with university, graduated (First class expectations vs money spent on tuition, anyone? Thank God for government scholarships)
I ventured into various business endeavors, including ill-fated agriculture projects that drained my finances (I was young and eager). Eventually, I packed my bags and headed to Juba, South Sudan, to take on an IT Administrator role and to "teach computer," as I was told.

It was a strange new world with scorching weather, but "regardless, we move," as they say in my home country. I joined the German organization in February 2014 and dove straight into teaching. Expecting to teach complex computer concepts, given that I had just graduated from university a few weeks ago, I was surprised to instead find myself making the easiest money I have ever made in life. “Teaching computer” here meant teaching the basics. And by basics, I mean explaining basics, computer hardware, what a mouse is, what MS Office is, and how to type so yes, the basics. I breathe a huge sigh of relief.

I scoured the internet for images, videos, and all kind of content, and pieced together a syllabus to start teaching. utilizing tools like Mavis Beacon to help me teach typing. I had the privilege of instructing a diverse group of learners—from prestigious individuals directly sent from the president’s office to young teenagers taking their first steps into the world of computing. The young ones were my favorite as seeing the spark in their eyes when they finally learnt how to type their name for the first time, or how to use excel, reminded me of my earlier days.

During this period, I had a lot of free time on my hands (as I mentioned, easy money), so I kept myself busy with graphic design gigs, creating and selling POS systems to local supermarkets, and continuing with website projects. here and there. More importantly, to me at least, I delved really really deep into YouTube learning. I am on there learning each and everything, from crash courses on psychology and philosophy, to how to get legally get  teamViewer accounts, to science channels and everything in between.
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At the workplace/training center, things were relatively straightforward: teaching computer basics, selling Java-based POS programs (I still wonder how I managed to get them to work), and occasionally taking on networking jobs, hardware repairs, and software maintenance tasks

Side note, around this time I get real into reddit, like alot. well to my excuse I had a lot time. But I learnt alot from that weird place and its weird strange people. If you are anold school redditor reading this, pour one out for Relay, sync and all the fallen soldiers. also on that note: RIP Vine. Amen.

Wazi Group and Returning back home

After teaching hundreds of students, realizing the POS software I was selling sadly was not going to make me dethrone Bill gate anytime soon, I packed up my life in Juba and returned home. My plan? To combine all the skills and knowledge I'd gained from various experiences into a single business: a graphics design, branding, printing, and IT company. Branding and printing were big industries at the time.

In October 2015, Wazi Group rented its first official office, and we started operations. I handled the graphics design, branding, and print department, while he ran website development. It was an IT company with a focus on branding – a unique combination back then.

Like most startups( or re starting up again for our case), things were tough. Jobs were scarce, and business was slow. I remember some very difficult days when I had to ask my parents for transportation money ,1,500 Ugandan shillings, roughly fifty cents today ,just to get to the office. Yes, it was a struggle, but somehow, we persevered, rent was paid, and we soldiered on.

We developed numerous websites for clients and also handled several office networking projects. Most of our software engineering work revolved around website-related front-end tasks. Many clients wanted simple static websites that showcased their businesses. Interestingly, we once secured a betting platform client, which introduced us to the world of online payments and mobile money APIs—a fun learning experience.

That trading platform was called https://dusupay.com/, which surprisingly is still operational today. Unfortunately, many of our other clients from that time either went out of business or shifted their focus to different sectors. Nevertheless, this period allowed me to gain valuable UI/UX design experience.

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On the personal side, I worked on E-musawo during this period: a telemedicine platform that connects remote health centers with medical specialists in referral centers. On the hardware side, we developed devices capable of reading various data, from blood samples to body temperature, which were intended to be part of E-musawo's product offerings. Essentially, it was a platform connecting doctors to patients and health centers . We went on to win the Resilient Africa Network (RAN Labs) innovation grants. This experience taught me a lot about research and the importance of data collection. The project required us to visit over 50 health centers in Western Uganda and conduct interviews with various stakeholders, including doctors, lab attendants, nurses, local chairmen, police, and more. We conducted hundreds of interviews, collected numerous notes,gathered data, trained personnel, and learned a tremendous amount.

As Wazi Group grew, my partner left for South Korea in 2017, leaving me to run the ship solo. I moved to larger offices on the 4th floor of our building and continued to expand the business.

Around this time, I began giving back to my community by sponsoring my high school football team, the team would go on to play several our schools league seasons, collecting various trophies along the way.

At around that same time, we shifted our focus more towards non-governmental organizations (NGOs) as our clientele.

On the technical side, after years of web development and front-end UI/UX work, I craved a new challenge. I shifted my attention back to backend development. I revisited my Java roots and created a QuickBooks rip-off which I managed to sell to only two clients before letting go of the project.

Around 2016, I'd also ventured into microfinancing and started a small money lending business. Together with a colleague, I built a platform on top of Excel 2007, which we named MoneyMouse. We managed to sell it to a few individuals.

Business-wise, our branding and printing department grew faster and larger than the IT department, reflecting the market demand in our developing nation. While software engineering contracts were less common, there was a high demand for hardware supplies and networking services. We supplied PCs, teleconference equipment, and other IT-related equipment to various clients.

Around 2018, I transitioned into a more managerial role, focusing on learning about business management, operations, strategy, leadership, and marketing. As always, my old friends YouTube and PirateBay were invaluable resources for learning.

By 2019, Wazi had evolved into a thriving business, expanding into the general supplies industry. We worked with and for with numerous NGOs, including UN Women, AIRD, DRC, NRC, Right to Play, and Human Rights Awareness Promotion Forum, dear clients who we owe a lot to and have grown with over the years.

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2020, lockdown happens. we all know how that went. How was it on my end? welp. You think being employed was hard during that time, try being on the other side. Business shuts down, am holding on by a thread,but we survive.

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Artificial intelligence and Massachusetts Institute of Technology

A Little Bit of GRATITUDE Goes a Long Way" - Julie Ann Sullivan

After the whole lockdown shenanigans, I picked myself up by the bootstraps and continued running Wazi. I hired a few more people, including some marketers, to really kick things into high gear. Little did I anticipate the second lockdown. It hit like a big slap in the face, forcing me to lay off most of the new hires and revert to a smaller team.

Around this same time, I took a trip to the Dubai to check out the World Expo, titled "Dubai Expo 2020"., with the theme being "Connecting Minds and Creating the Future" , and create the future it did, for me anyway.

For those unfamiliar, the World expo showcases different countries' strengths and happens once every 5 years. In summary, it's an expo for the entire world, literally, like name States "world Expo",.Next one is in 2025 in Japan, You should go some time.

It's at that expo that I realized this AI thing is actually coming, and it's going to be huge. This was three years before the launch of ChatGPT that blew the entire industry wide open. I remember the UK had an AI thing where you would give it a word and it would generate a poem for you. Mind-blowing, right? I know. But keep in mind, this was three years before the world even knew such technology existed let alone possible. So yeah, it was pretty mind-blowing at the time.

Wanting to get ahead of the curve, I came back home and decided to dive headfirst into this AI world and get to know what it's all about. And as always, YouTube was my friendly neighborhood savior man. I started learning about AI, starting all the way from the basics, data science and statistics to machine learning and upwards. At the time, I was just learning it as a passion and to see what edge it might give me and my business. I was never really thinking of a career in AI, but thinking about it, that's how most things I end up doing for money start, the graphics design rings a bell.

During that time, I stumbled upon MIT's OCW (OpenCourseWare), shocked by how MIT would give free knowledge for free. I mean, it's MIT! I decided to write them an email thanking them for this free knowledge, what followed from that email was a whole other path and journey I never saw coming.

Open learners Podcast

Several news articles were published about me, and I ended up collaborating and working with MIT to produce a podcast highlighting people around the world who have used these OCW resources. Along the way, I met and worked with wonderful people. There’s a whole lot more I won’t delve into here because it’s all available online somewhere. But suffice it to say, it’s one of the most uniquely wonderful experiences of my life. And to think it all started with a simple “Thank You” email—gratitude really does go a long way.

On the software engineering front, I was learning a lot. I had the opportunity to try and test several AI models during their startup days, well before the rest of the world got to see them. And for the first time in a long while, I fell back in love with software engineering and computer science. Perhaps it was because I had spent most of the past decade studying psychology, human behavioral sciences, and intelligence—driven by a passion for understanding our own cognitive abilities and what it means to be an intelligent species. A lot of Nolan and sci-fi related movies were also really scratching that itch really well. So here I was immersed in Artificial Intelligence, the intelligence part really driving my thirst,

So there I was, immersed in Artificial Intelligence, the intelligence part really driving my thirst. On that note, I'm going to say this because I really want you to know about this. Of all the things I have studied and dedicated my time to over the years, the late Patrick Winston's classes on artificial intelligence are by far the crème de la crème for me. For the first time ever, I saw someone paint the perfect picture and draw the perfect line between our intelligence and the artificial. Anyone interested in anything AI-related should, no MUST, watch them, Trust me on this.

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Anyway, I digress. So, after 2 years , I have and still learning each and everything to do with AI, and any related or close model at this point. From having the chance to test most AI models as they dropped,  early Video Gen AI like Pika, to playing with Anthropic's Claude in its early launch stages( It was surprisingly good). Creating chatBots on Langchain sited on GPT ( that was really fun). lLarning Prompt engineering from deep learning, to building my bots on Poe almost a year before GPT introduced GPTs and gave users that ability. The shockingly human-sounding heyPi was creepy and new,. Using AI to create  game for me without me writing a single line of code, way before co-pilots were a thing - I really loved the AI movement. Like loved, and my cringy LinkedIn and Youtube from around those years are a testament to that.

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Around 3 years in, I decided that AI is where I finally want to settle as a computer science or software engineering field. It combined my passion for understanding our intelligence, which had been my path for years, and my technical skill of being a software engineer for years. It's the sweet spot.

But, as with many things in the tech world, my home country was lagging behind—infrastructure underdeveloped and people largely unaware. Not wanting to wait around like I did back in the 2010s when mobile apps and websites were taking off but the environment wasn't receptive, I decided to move to a more conducive environment. So, when 2024 rolled around, a friend living in Canada offered me his guest bedroom for a month, which seemed like a good starting point. I resigned from Wazi Group, leaving it in the hands of my former company secretary and the head, and hired a few colleagues from high school to take over temporarily as I ventured into this unknown new world to pursue my newfound love for AI. Having spent over three years in the field, building my own chatbots, I had never formally entered the job market for AI. It was still a new industry; most people didn’t know it, but it had garnered a lot of attention and investment in the two years it had been around. By this point, I had been in the field for over three years, having built a few chatbots of my own, but I had never formally entered the job market for AI. It was still a nascent industry; most people were unfamiliar with it, but it had attracted significant investment in the two years since its inception. However, I wanted practical experience. I craved the opportunity to work for a real AI firm, to be at the forefront of this exciting field . You might call it a big, ambitious, even stupid dream, but honesty is key. Life is short, and you have to go after what you want, or at least try, right? I’m sure even you reading this can relate to that time when you pursued what you wanted despite everything and everyone telling you otherwise. After all, I'm just human, just like everyone else.

I had been applying to several firms since my second year in AI, but with no success. Undeterred, I thought that maybe applying from a more developed place closer to these AI firms would improve my chances. Oh, the optimism!

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As I write this, it's been two weeks in the land of the cold. I've applied to several AI and non AI tech firms, but most don't even reply—yes, it's truly disheartening. To be honest, the tech industry can be ruthless; it's a dog-eat-dog world out there, despite what the media might portray. But I also understand that , given my work background. I mean, I left behind a comfortable business, being my own boss, a personal assistant, a two-bedroom house with a large compound, two maids, and a car to live in someone's guest bedroom and pursue a passion and career in an industry that's still in its infancy—not fully understood or developed enough to be hiring, let alone knowing what roles to fill or what they would entail. So, I get it. But hey, you've got to start somewhere, right?

On the software engineering side, AI was everything. I built my own chat app on top of GPT and several other smaller AI-related projects. The most interesting ones were built entirely by AI, like the games I created and profit margin calculators. I thoroughly enjoyed watching the industry evolve, experimenting with all the AI tools people built—from the quirky ones to the brilliant ideas and truly impressive ones. Side note: LiterallyAnything.io was among the first truly multimodal platforms I encountered.

AI has become a powerful tool in my life: it helped launch many passion projects. I started writing because now I didn't have to worry about grammar and such—I could just draft my ideas, create a solid prompt, and receive a ready-to-publish article. This experience opened my mind to capabilities I didn't know I had.

And that speaks to why I'm really passionate about this field. The power and ability it will give humanity is unprecedented, and I can't wait to see that come to fruition. As someone who's been asking questions about our species since my childhood, inspired by Dexter's Lab cartoons, this is truly groundbreaking. I can see its potential in propelling our species forward, granting us powers only dreamed of in previous revolutions like industry and agriculture.

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Why a story?

"At the end of the day, you will have a story to tell." - Emmanuel Olimi Kasigazi. yah am quoting myself.

Wow, if you're still reading, I'm incredibly grateful! It feels like you're already getting to know the real me. So, why not reach out and chat? That's how friendships are made.

Now, why a story? Instead of the typical engineer brag session?. I could have done what most people expect and showcased all my projects, boasting about how great a designer or engineer I am and saying, "Look at all this cool stuff I've built." But if you've read up to this point, honestly, if you've made it this far, you probably don't care about "all this cool stuff I've built and you've also probably guessed that I'm not that kind of person.

Like Patrick Winston taught me, story matters more than anything. It doesn’t make sense to me to tell you about projects that, let’s be real, you most definitely don’t really really care about. Do you honestly care about how containers in S3 buckets with jinja flask and yada yada yada? And if you do, there are thousands of other platforms for you to get that information from—GitHub if you love looking at code or LinkedIn if you enjoy seeing people stroke their egos and exaggerate their achievements, myself included. But this is my site, and I pay for it with my own money, so I’ll use it how I like. If you don’t like it, go create your own site. Jokes aside…

If a decade-plus of studying and trying to understand Homo sapiens has taught me anything, it’s that we are social beings. Scientifically speaking, the most important thing to you as a living being isn’t your money, job, or how many lines of code you’ve written over the years. No. It’s you—the number one most important thing to humans is themselves. Now, can you guess what the second most important thing is? It’s not your 65-inch flat-screen TV.

It’s other people. Again, we are social beings. And I figured that, yes, you might have come here expecting me to go on about my technical knowledge and projects. But those are things you can find on several other platforms. Instead, I’d rather tell you about what actually matters—me. a human being. Who I am, my journey, how I got where I am,  why you even landed here in the first place, or why you should even care. Because no matter what you came here looking for, no matter what happens or what I end up doing for or with you, at the end of the day, what will matter most is not what I know or what I do. It's who I was as a person that will matter, your experience with me. And since we are storytelling beings, my story will matter as well.

Thanks for reading this. If you've made it this far, thank you even more. Thank you for reading my crazy nonsense and allowing me to waste your valuable time, like the Canadians like to say, "I'm sorry."

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